Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore and gain a deeper understanding into the lived experiences of therapist’s encounters of counter transference when working with bereaved children. The topic developed when the researcher came across such a case in her own psychotherapy masters training and addressed it within her supervision sessions.
A qualitative paradigm was utilised and an interpretative phenomenological analysis strategy was applied. This study drew on the experiences of a small participant sample that comprised of three psychotherapists. The data gathered was based on semi-structured interviews that yielded rich narratives. The data was analysed for units of meaning. These units of meaning were then approached from a hermeneutic stance of inductive interpretation. This allowed for the categorisation of the data into superordinate themes.
Three superordinate themes emerged based on the participants’ experiences of counter transference when working with a bereaved child, namely: ‘the myth of neutrality: the dual role of the psychotherapist’; ‘ethical dilemmas: the “pity lens” in bereaved child psychotherapy’; and ‘containing the therapeutic frame: avoiding the blind spots’.
This study was able to contribute to the existing reservoir of knowledge and provide up-to-date themes on the phenomenon of counter transference when working therapeutically with bereaved children. It has enabled an in-depth analysis and exploration of the experiences of psychotherapists who have encountered counter transference when working with a bereaved child within the South African context.
The findings of this research confirmed the perspective that counter transference can be utilised as a therapeutic and clinical tool within the psychological field. The importance of remaining ethically aware of one’s counter transference was significant for all the participants as it enabled the participants to avoid unethical behaviour. Paramount to remaining conscious of counter transference was the role of self-care...
M.A. (Clinical Psychology)